


New Growth

by TheUnicornFountain



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Gen, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 16:10:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4752629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnicornFountain/pseuds/TheUnicornFountain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link visits a place from his past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Growth

**Author's Note:**

> Just something that got into my head. Enjoy, thanks!

# New Growth

The sea was calm--a blessing after a week of storms. Something had wanted to keep him away from this place, and the waves had tossed the chartered boat here and there, day and night, until finally the storm broke; as if they had given up.

It took the boat another half-week to arrive at the place Link had pointed out to the captain on the man’s sea chart. It was an empty spot of water like any other, but it had to be precisely that empty spot. The payment was large enough to silence any questions, and they had set off.

Now they sailed past a white tower that rose out of the water. Link looked at it as it glided past, and he heard the captain mutter a superstitious prayer. The tower fell behind, but it was still clear on the horizon when the boat stopped.

“We’re here,” the captain announced. He needn’t had to. Link knew it was the right place. Years later, the waves still drew on him. It was as if they were eager to drown him beneath their embrace. 

But there would be no drowning today. Link stepped up onto the side of the boat while the captain and his crew were still steadying the vessel. It rocked beneath his feet, and he rode the motions as he turned his head up towards the cloud-dotted sky.

“His wish still stands,” Link spoke in a loud, clear voice. The crew and captain paused in their work to stare at him. “I haven’t yet laid the seeds of the future. You will protect me. You _must.”_

The captain uttered a strangled yell, but Link’s shoulders were already dropping below the line of sight. He rushed to where the young man had stood only seconds earlier, but he found only bubbles.

The sea closed in quickly around Link. He shut his eyes against the dark and held his breath for as long as he could manage. He counted to almost a full minute in his head before he opened his eyes and gasped for the air that was by now far above him. It found him no less, and he released his breath in a sigh. The sea dampened him and dragged him down, but he didn’t feel its pressure or cold. He flipped his feet up towards the surface and swam deeper.

A disc of stone slowly appeared beneath Link. It was closer to the surface than he would have thought; but then, it was the top of a tower. The swirls etched into the stone, depicting the wind, shimmered in the sunlight that reached this far. Near the middle, a dark blot interrupted the design. 

Link flipped again and touched down on the tower as if he was jumping to the ground. He walked to the dark blot, now shown to be a mound of seaweed, barnacles, and other small sea creatures. The vegetation was spreading slowly from the mound, across the top of the tower. Link stepped around most of it and looked up at the recognizable stone profile beneath a broad starfish.

“King Daphnes’s wish came true,” Link said. His words carried clearly. “Tetra and I found a new land. We’ve named it Hyrule in honor of the old kingdom. She even married after a while, and she’s expecting a child. I haven’t gotten that far yet.” He smiled self-consciously for a second. “I came back to tell you this because I think you deserve to know. You tried to save Hyrule, and for that you should know that you succeeded, in a way. You were the one who triggered all these events. The seeds of your conquest bore fruit in a way you didn’t imagine, but I hope it’s enough to give you rest.

“It’s a very beautiful land,” Link continued. “The grass is green, and it has its own gods and races. They’re helping us to settle down. They have these… these machines. Trains, they call them. They’re magnificent to behold. I think you would like them. They eat fire and power their way across the world on tracks of iron.” He paused. “I wish you could see them. I think that world--this New Hyrule--would have been what you were looking for. You would have been content.”

Link sighed and raised his eyes a little higher to the blade embedded in the mound. It was still pristine after all these years with not a single barnacle on it. “I’m sorry,” he said, finally, in a quiet voice before he pushed off from the tower and swam up towards the surface.


End file.
